Shelter houses residents, tourists in Biloxi

Storm floods U.S. 90; waves overtake Miss. beaches

BILOXI, Miss. - Seventy-five people filled a Red Cross shelter inside D'Iberville High School a few miles outside of Biloxi on Wednesday as Hurricane Isaac passed.

Elizabeth Parks, who's six-months pregnant and a has a 2-year-old son, arrived at the shelter Tuesday night.

"Boring, stressful, just want to go home," she said. "Just sitting around. I don't have cellphone service or nothing."

Troy Causey, of Los Angeles, was in Biloxi on business and staying at a casino. The casinos closed down Tuesday morning, and Causey can't get home.

"The shelter has been a blessing," he said. "Red Cross did come to help us out as far as providing shelter, getting out of the storm, giving us that sense of security here."

"Coming from southern California as a tourist, I've never experienced this type of rain in my life," Causey added.

U.S. Highway 90, the main coastal road that goes through Biloxi, is under water, as is the beach, which was completely swallowed up by the waves. On Wednesday, the wind was strong enough to blow over large metal barricades in the area.

"We don't see these waves down here," resident Taira Hokamp said. "The water is normally way out and there's no waves at all."

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